What the heck is Geocaching? Well, it's really, high tech meets mother nature. Kind of like a high tech treasure hunt... I will let the good old wikipedia explain further.....>>> Click here>>>>Geocaching

Interested ....? I hope so. We are going to have an "Intro to Geocaching" event on our next couple of camping trips for those who are interested. It will ba a great oppurtunity so see first hand what it is all about.

As Order of the Arrow elections approach, I was on a website re-living some memories of when I was elected and came across the following parable. I thought you guys would enjoy it. It rings true for every man........

A grandfather told his grandson that there is a battle between two wolves that live within you.

Tuesday night was a court of honor night for the Boy Scouts at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Amarillo. These little affairs, where selected Scouts are recognized for their recent work, are held three to four times a year. It's usually a parents thing with a few Scout leaders thrown in.

This one was different. It wasn't nearly so ordinary because Coleman Carter is so far removed from ordinary. Carter, nearly 18, is about to leave the Scouts. And he's leaving in a way that's truly remarkable.

To become an Eagle Scout, the organization's highest honor, a minimum of 21 merit badges are required. Most average around 30. Carter became an Eagle at 13. But he's kept going ... and going ... and going.

There are 121 merit badges for Scouts, and Carter has earned every darn one of them. In the sports vernacular, it would be like when Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs in 1920 and the previous record was 29.

The Boy Scouts of America say that only one-half of 1 percent of all Scouts run the merit badge table. It's just so far out there that 99.5 percent of all Scouts don't even consider it, much less do it.

"I've been around thousands of kids, and this is an exceptional, unusual young man," said Bob Altman, Golden Spread Council assistant Scout executive. "He's unbelievable. He's just amazing."

Carter began accumulating merit badges in the fifth grade at a faster rate than his scouting peers. Sometime around the age of 13 or 14, he realized he had a shot to get all 121 if he just stayed with it.

"I thought that would be a neat way to distinguish myself," Carter said. "It's just something notable that I knew would take a lot of hard work, but also a neat accomplishment."

The last 40 or so merit badges can be unusual, requiring finding those who can teach them or going to out-of-the-way places to earn them. Carter took a pottery class with his mother, Edie, at Amarillo College, for one.

He earned a backpacking badge with a 100-mile hike over a week at the Philmont camp in New Mexico. To earn a cycling badge, he'd done a series of trips, but needed a final 50-miler last October. When a few friends couldn't go at the last minute, Edie took up the cause and pedaled with him.

The hardest one to obtain, though, was, oddly, bugling.

"I played the piano when I was younger, but I'm no musical expert," he said. "But after a lot of coaching and fiddling around with it, I could blow a tune on it. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but I got it done."

If, by now, you think Coleman Carter fits that stereotype of the nerdy, single-minded socially awkward kid who holes up in his room playing Dungeons and Dragons in his spare time, it's time to put that notion away.

"He's not one-dimensional. He's not a nerd," Altman said. "He's so well-rounded it's ridiculous. He's just a fascinating young man."

He reaches out to people and keeps an outward focus. He may be as skilled socially as he is academically.

The 121 merit badges are an extension of who he is, but not what he is. Carter is also the Tascosa High School student body president. He's a National Merit Scholar and ranked No. 1 in his class. This summer he was on campus for eight weeks to take a college calculus and psychology class as part of the Secondary School Program. The university? Harvard.

He may go back. Whatever top-flight university it is, he plans to major in international business with a math and economics emphasis.

For Carter, much of his drive comes from an insatiable hunger to learn, a constant curiosity about the way the world works. The other stemmed from a hard lesson when he was 9 and his closest friend, also the same age, was killed in an auto accident.

"I realized at a young age that every day is a gift," he said, "and I didn't want to waste any gifts God has given me. I've always been motivated to be the best I can be."

Edie and Clay Carter have heard others joke with them that their second child is not normal. All they can do is agree.

"Coleman truly lives every day to its fullest," Edie said. "He sleeps very little and seizes every opportunity to do the best and be the best."

There has to be a few mistakes along the way - bowling out of turn, things like that - but, for sure, Carter is several cuts above and destined for more beyond 121 Boy Scout merit badges.

"He's the kind of guy who could be president some day," Altman said. "He's destined for something great. There's no telling what he's going to do."

Jon Mark Beilue's column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at jon.beilue@amarillo.com or 806-345-3318.

MINNEAPOLIS – June 17, 2009 – To describe one Minnesota teenager as "one in a million" is an understatement – by half. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) today announced that Anthony Thomas, 16, of Lakeville, Minn., has been named the 2 millionth Eagle Scout since the first Eagle badge was awarded in 1912.

Eagle Scout is the highest attainable rank in Boy Scouting and requires years of dedication and hard work. Scouts must demonstrate proficiency in leadership, service, and outdoor skills at multiple levels before achieving the Eagle rank. Fewer than 5 percent of Boy Scouts earn the Eagle badge.

Anthony, who will be a junior at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., has been involved in Scouting since age 7. A member of the Northern Star Council's Troop 471 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn., he credits Scouting for his love of the outdoors and commitment to service. Adopted from Korea, Anthony volunteers as a counselor to Korean adoptees at Camp Choson. He also is active in his church and recently lettered in Service at his school. Anthony will spend part of his summer in New Orleans to help with ongoing cleanup work from Hurricane Katrina.

"Anthony represents everything that the Eagle badge stands for: character, integrity, leadership, and service to others," said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America. "It is fitting that we honor the 2 millionth Eagle as we prepare to celebrate 100 years of service to the nation."

As the 2 millionth Eagle Scout, Anthony will serve as a youth ambassador for Scouting by participating in upcoming BSA's 100th Anniversary events such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.; the BSA's annual Report to the Nation in Washington, D.C.; and the National Scout Jamboree in 2010.

"I'm honored and humbled to be selected as the 2 millionth Eagle Scout," Anthony said. "The Eagle rank represents excellence and leadership at every stage of life, and I will do my best to honor those Eagles who have come before me and to encourage other Scouts to pursue the Eagle Award."

In addition to the 21 merit badges required to earn Eagle rank, each Scout must complete an extensive service project that he plans, organizes, leads, and manages before his 18th birthday. For his project, Anthony designed and constructed devices to help train service dogs for Helping Paws of Minnesota, which provides dogs for disabled persons to further their independence. A key component of his project was to raise awareness for the organization and its mission. He accomplished this by arranging a service dog demonstration for his troop and coordinating a kick-off drive to encourage his fellow Scouts to earn their Disabilities Awareness merit badge.

Anthony’s parents, Jim and Cheryl Thomas, are active Scouting volunteers. Anthony also has a younger sister, Allison. In addition to Scouting, Anthony enjoys snowboarding, track, soccer, and playing the guitar.

"The fellowship of Eagles celebrates the milestone of the 2 millionth Eagle Scout," said Glenn Adams, president of the National Eagle Scout Association. "Each Eagle represents a life of service to others and to the communities where Eagles live and work. We congratulate Anthony Thomas and look forward to working with him to help encourage other Scouts to pursue their Eagle."

About the Boy Scouts of America

Serving nearly 4.1 million young people between the ages of 7 and 20 with more than 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

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Facts about Eagle Scouts

* The first Eagle badge was awarded in 1912.

* Fewer than 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earn the Eagle rank.

* The 1 millionth Eagle Scout milestone was reached in 1982.

* In 2008, a record-high 52,025 Scouts earned the Eagle badge.

* In 2008, Eagle Scout service projects provided $16 million in service to communities across the nation (based on national volunteer hour value of $19.51).

Each year for my birthday my family has roast duck, spaetzle (german egg noodles), red pickled cabbage (Do you Scouts like cabbage, ha?), spinach, and apple pie for dessert. Like I said, WOW!

Do you or your family have a favorite meal? Maybe it is Thanksgiving. It is a blessing to enjoy a good meal and even better to pause and say "Thanks" because of it. This year as we distribute and collect Scouting for Food bags and enjoy Thanksgiving do just that - Pause; Look your families in the eyes; and say "Thanks" or "Grace". Then know that you are all fine young men for assisting the local food pantry and providing one more bowl for one more soul and meals for those less fortunate. In this way you will have truly enjoyed both "Thanks" and "Giving".

“Vaya con Dios”. This means go with G-d in Spanish. My ‘ol man used to say this to me every time we parted, and I never really thought about it. I figured it was just another goofy thing about Dad (have you Scouts ever thought your Dad was Goofy, ha?). Off to school, off to Scouts, off to riding my bike (and then off to driving my ’73 Duster with 3 on the floor, ha!), off to many events in my life – it was always “Vaya con Dios”. I just wrote it off as a Poncho and Lefty cowboy thing (we both liked westerns).

As I am now a father and look at my children and this Troop 59 we have I now know exactly what my dad meant. Enjoy the adventures and camaraderie, enjoy the nature, and appreciate your volunteer leaders who give you the framework to succeed. You are all fine young man so do your best to chip in for each other and in this way you can not fail.